Thursday, October 25, 2012

Intern Profile on Taysha Murtaugh

Taysha Murtaugh is 21-years-old and pursuing a
journalism, political science and psychology degree at Iowa State University. She
is currently the online editor of her campus magazine, Sir. Prior to Sir
magazine Murtaugh has written for the following publications at her university:
Iowa State Daily, Ethos magazine, and Catalyst magazine. This past school year, Murtaugh finished up her
internship at Better Homes and Gardens,
where she was the online editorial apprentice.
With plenty of experience under her belt, Murtaugh has proven that she has
what it takes to succeed at the popular fashion magazine, InStyle as the editorial intern.

Murtaugh didn’t know what to expect when she began
to work at InStyle, but she is
definitely enjoying the experience. “I’m learning so much about what it takes
to plan a magazine,” said Murtaugh. “All of the details about the products we
feature really matter, and that’s the kind of thing I’m in charge of,
researching and gathering.”

As an editorial intern, Murtaugh compiles a lot of
research for editors of the magazine. One task was to research a competing
magazine and present an analysis to a team of editors. That was the best
experience she has had so far. “It was completely nerve-racking, but it was
also awesome,” she said.

As for living in the Big Apple, Murtaugh has been
having the time of her life. From starting a dance-party in a “stuffy” bar to
dancing in the rain with friends in lower Manhattan, she has been making the
most of her time in the city. The most exciting moment had to be seeing
Hollywood actress, Cameron Diaz. “Seeing a person I’ve watched countless times
on movie screens was like seeing a ghost,” wrote Murtaugh on her ASME blog
post. “To be honest, it scared me a little. It also made my week.”

Murtaugh’s internship is slowly coming to a close
but she plans on enjoying every minute of it and living in New York City.
Before it ends she hopes to attend a Yankees game, go to a few museums and
visit Ellis Island. Most importantly, she plans to have some fun with the other
ASME interns before it’s time to head home. “I want to spend more time just
having fun with the other interns, because we won’t be living in the same
building or even the same city pretty soon,” said Murtaugh.

After the internship is over, she will be entering
her senior year at Iowa State University this fall and can’t wait to enjoy it
with her best friends. During her senior year, Murtaugh will continue to search
for an internship or a job post-graduation.
However, the first thing she plans to do once she gets to Iowa is meet
her new baby niece, Kinsley, who was born right after she got to New York.

Murtaugh is anxious about her future, the fact is
that it even scares her. “It’s frightening that in ten months, I will be a
college graduate thrust into the real world. Eventually, I hope to have a job
at a publication where there is opportunity to contribute and grow,” she said.
“Something that’s really important to me is that, I feel that I am making a
difference in people’s lives. I also really want to have a family. Basically, I
want it all.” -Mabel Martinez, ASME Intern, Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus